THE EDITORS AMBASSADOR’S NOTES Editor-in-chief Dara YUSILAWATI, First Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Socio-Cultural Affairs, Embassy of Indonesia in Brussels Dear Friends of Indonesia, Editors and main contributors Dara YUSILAWATI, First Secretary for Public When I arrived in Brussels on 11 Nove- Diplomacy and Socio-Cultural Affairs, Embassy mber 2020, the global Covid-19 pandemic of Indonesia in Brussels Nefertiti HINDRATMO, First Secretary for Public was hitting hard globally for the second Diplomacy and Socio-Cultural Affairs, Embassy time, including in Belgium and most parts of Indonesia in Brussels of Europe. Now that the vaccines are fina- Elisabeth Sri Unggul Ida MULYANI, Staff, Embassy of Indonesia in Brussels lly here and have been rolled out in some parts of the world, it gives me great relief Contributors and confidence that eventually the pand- Alberto TURKSTRA and Barbara DIETRICH Amb. Yuri O. THAMRIN emic will be over — hopefully soon. Dr. Dino Patti DJALAL As 2020 is very much the year of the Dewi Putri MEGAWATI Covid-19 pandemic, the Embassy decid- Haryo NINDITO Hijjaz SUTRIADI ed to highlight how Indonesia is doing during this difficult year. -Al Lynn KURNIAWAN though our economy was hit hard, especially in the second quarter with Martine MILLET-VERVAT a deficit of around 5.5%, it improved marginally in the third quarter, Olivia N MARYATMO Sasi HEMAWARDHANI with growth of around 1.5% compared to the previous quarter. This Jessica Clara SHINTA was thanks to a stronger domestic market and more effective govern- ment policies in response to the pandemic. If we do better in the fourth Interviews Amb. Andri HADI quarter, we are hoping for an annual contraction of between 1.7% and François Van HOYDONCK 2.2% this year. In this edition, we are pleased to present you with a Philippe DELAISSE summary of Indonesia’s policies in response to and mitigation of this Cover Picture Contributors pandemic. We also highlight the other side of the pandemic, which is a Amir TOHA (IG; @amirtohatj) strong philanthropic spirit among the Indonesian community. In fact, Martine MILLET-VERVAT besides the government, society is doing awe-inspiring work during the Research and Administration Team pandemic to help its fellow communities. Therefore, this year’s theme is Desti PERTIWI “Resilient Indonesia: Emerging from the Covid-19 Crisis”. Tovanni PANJAITAN The issue of Islamophobia, especially in response to certain events in Proofreader France, was again highlighted this year, as well as in Indonesia. There- Tamryn Romayne MARSHALL (via Upwork.com) fore, we have included in this edition a great piece written by my col- league Amb. Dino Patti Djalal on “What the West needs to understand Graphic Design Moh RIKZA about the cartoon protests”, which was published in the Jakarta Post on 10 November 2020. We hope this article will enlighten us on the issues of Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia Islam and the Muslim community. Boulevard de la Woluwe, 38 Since 2020 is a “Green Deal” year, we have included a few articles 1200 Brussels Belgium about Indonesia’s commitment to sustainability post the Covid-19 recov- Email: [email protected] ery, such as on the issues of palm oil and forestry. To satisfy your longing https://kemlu.go.id/brussels/en for Bali, our Belgian colleague Martine Millet-Vervat is very excited to share her Bali love story in this edition. Articles on Indonesian tradition- Copyright ©2020 the Embassy of the Republic of al jamu magic drinks and Indonesian specialty coffee are also included Indonesia in Brussels to give you a better taste of Indonesia. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form Last but not least, I am so excited to be working closely with everyone or by any means, including photocopying, recording, to elevate Indonesia’s relations with Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Eu- or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the Embassy of the ropean Union. I am pleased to share with you in this bulletin my short Republic of Indonesia in Brussels, except in the case interview in which I explain my mission here in Belgium.I hope you will of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and find this bulletin enjoyable and informative. certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. I wish you a happy, healthy, and more promising 2021. Otherwise stated in the captions, pictures in this bulletin are owned by the Embassy of Indonesia, or legally obtained from government of Indonesia such Andri Hadi as Indonesia.travel or Setkab.go.id or owned by the Ambassador of Indonesia contributors. Content 01 Ambassador’s Notes 40 Indonesia that I Know 41 Bali, I’m in love! 03 Indonesia Updates 44 Uncovering Indonesia’s Hidden Gems 04 Responding, Mitigating, and Recovering from the Covid-19 Pandemic: Indonesia’s 46 Creative Minds Experience 47 Meet the creator of Mila 07 Solidarity in Times of Corona: Indonesia’s Social and Resilient Spirit 09 Indonesia – EU Relations : an 22 Special Reports Overview 23 What the West needs to Understand about the Cartoon Protests 11 Resilient Indonesia: Emerging from the Covid-19 25 A Schengen Visa Exemption for Crisis Indonesia: Is it Possible? 27 A Global Pandemic of Virtual 12 Navigating the Ship during Meetings Thunderstorms: A talk with Ambassador Andri Hadi 29 Diaspora 15 Indonesia: Towards a Sustaina- ble and Resilient post-COVID 19 30 Discovering stars: Indonesian Recovery Diaspora in Belgium and 49 Discovering the Belgian Land of Luxembourg Castles through Lenses 17 Balancing Forest Protection and 33 Indonesian Diaspora Cycling Palm Oil Development Belgium 51 Diplomacy Etcetera 19 Sustainable Palm Oil: the Best of both Worlds 52 Indonesia, a Favorite 35 Invest in Indonesia Destination at VAKANZ 2020 36 Invest in Indonesia Post 53 Rumah Budaya Indonesia Covid-19 Pandemic Introduced Indonesian Culture to Belgian Children 37 Invest in Indonesia’s Success Story: Ethnicraft 55 Connecting the Docks: Dialogue on Port Development 39 Jamu, Indonesian “Magic” Drinks 56 Belgium Welcomes Certified Legal and Sustainable Furniture and Wood Products from Indonesia Coffee! and beyond Indonesian Coffee 21 at a Glance 57 Bahasa Indonesia Corner Pojok Bahasa, Hayo lo indobuzz DECEMBER 2020 Responding, Mitigating, and Solidarity in Times of Corona: Indonesia – EU Relations : Recovering from the Covid-19 Indonesia’s Social and Resilient an Overview Pandemic: Indonesia’s Experience Spirit PAGE 4 PAGE 7 PAGE 9 Indonesia Updates INDONESIA UPDATES 4 Responding, Mitigating, and Recovering from the Covid-19 Pandemic: Indonesia’s Experience DARA YUSILAWATI 020 has been a tough year for everyone. Not a vices, provided medicines, established health facili- single country is immune to the coronavirus ties, and provided the population with access to vac- (Covid-19). The impact of this pandemic is incal- cines. culable and unimaginably massive to everyone. To maintain people’s livelihoods, the government 2For Indonesia, the largest economy in Southeast Asia has provided support to less fortunate communities, with a population of approximately 270 million people, among others, by lowering electricity tariffs, relaxing responding to and mitigating the pandemic has been taxes, easing credit, creating new jobs, providing no- very challenging. At least 26.42 million people still live work compensation, as well as providing daily sup- below the poverty line, 74 million people work in in- port, such as food parcels. With the lockdowns, tour- formal sectors (with an average income of only US$100 ism has vanished, and businesses have been badly hit - 200 per month), and 85 percent of the population’s by the pandemic. The government has also created health care is co-funded by the government. Therefore, support mechanisms for affected businesses by pro- dealing with the pandemic in Indonesia is a huge re- viding fiscal incentives, maintaining the liquidity of fi- sponsibility as both health and economic issues must nancial systems, encouraging domestic consumption, be addressed at the same time. and creating a better investment climate. While the Indonesian government prioritizes health issues for its citizens, it is “forced” to enact policies that Fiscal package for mitigating the pandemic will not create new problems, especially when people To fund all the above programs, the government cannot avoid becoming victims of the virus, as well as has allocated a fiscal package amounting to RP695.20 poverty and hunger. The government has tried its best trillion (US$46.7 billion), which is equivalent to 4.3 to take into account all considerations to formulate percent of GDP for the fiscal year 2020 alone. The balanced and effective policies that can help people to package is divided into six subprograms/measures, “survive” and “live with” the pandemic. Its approach namely: 1) strengthening the health sector; 2) provid- to overcoming this pandemic, therefore, focuses on ing social protection for the most vulnerable; 3) em- two elements: preserving life (health) and maintaining powering sectoral and local governments in handling people’s livelihoods. Covid-19; 4) providing fiscal incentives for business; To preserve the life (health) of the population, the 5) empowering small and medium-sized enterprises; government has implemented numerous policies, in- and 6) providing finances for the economic recovery cluding enforcing border controls, strict health proto- phase. cols, and carrying out large-scale lockdowns